Interlocking interior trim

ABSTRACT

The interlocking interior trim is a modular baseboard system that may be installed without using additional specialized tools or materials. The baseboard sections are stackable, and will connect to each other before being secured to the wall. The interlocking trim can be used around the walls of a room or along a staircase. When used along a staircase, the sections are cut at an angle to allow the system to run parallel to the slope of the stairs.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 11/889,049, filed Aug. 8, 2007, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 11/133,241, filed on May 20, 2005, now abandoned. This application is also a continuation-in-part of International patent application number PCT/US2006/045122, filed Nov. 26, 2006. This application further claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/008197, filed Dec. 19, 2007.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to building construction. More specifically, the invention relates to interlocking interior trim, molding, or modular baseboard assemblies for use around walls and stairs.

2. Description of the Related Art

In recent years, the home flooring industry has expanded its number and styles of do-it-yourself flooring, allowing many homeowners to install attractive wood and tile floors themselves. The flooring technology has evolved to allow these wood and tile systems to be installed using as few specialized tools and materials as possible.

Most homes have baseboards that are secured to the bottom of the walls, above the intersection with the flooring. These baseboards are used to cover the joint between the wall and the floor, as well as to provide decoration. As homeowners are increasingly installing flooring themselves, they therefore must also install the baseboards themselves.

These do-it-yourselfers require baseboards that may be assembled easily and without requiring many specialized tools or materials. The homeowners may desire uniquely decorative baseboards, or simple traditional designs. Therefore, the baseboards should be modular to allow for different styles and designs of baseboards to be installed. The baseboards may be installed in rooms or along staircases.

Thus, interlocking interior trim solving the aforementioned problems is desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The interlocking interior trim is a modular baseboard system that may be installed without using additional specialized tools or materials. Dubbed the Snap-N-Go Systems, the baseboard sections are stackable, and will connect to each other using tongue-and-groove or equivalent joints, before being secured to the wall using an adhesive backing or other common fastener. The interlocking trim is designed to allow the typical homeowners to install the trim themselves. The trim may be fabricated from wood, plastic, fiberboard, PVC or any suitable and conventional material.

The interlocking trim can be used around the bases of walls of a room, as a chair rail, as crown molding or along a staircase, door or window. When used along a staircase, the sections are cut at an angle to allow the system to run parallel to the slope of the stairs.

These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is an environmental, perspective view of a stackable baseboard assembly of interlocking interior trim according to the present invention.

FIG. 1B is an environmental, perspective view of an ornamental stackable baseboard assembly of interlocking interior trim according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a bottom baseboard piece of interlocking interior trim according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a center baseboard piece of interlocking interior trim according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a center baseboard piece with relief design of interlocking interior trim according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a bottom round piece of interlocking interior trim according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a top baseboard piece of interlocking interior trim according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a top baseboard piece with a molding design of interlocking interior trim according to the present invention.

FIG. 8A is a perspective view of a corner connector piece for use with a bottom round piece of interlocking interior trim according to the present invention.

FIG. 8B is a perspective view of a corner connector piece of interlocking interior trim according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an environmental, perspective view of staircase baseboard assembly of interlocking interior trim according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a bottom staircase baseboard piece of interlocking interior trim according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a center staircase baseboard piece with relief design of interlocking interior trim according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a center staircase baseboard piece of interlocking interior trim according to the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of top staircase baseboard piece with molding design of interlocking interior trim according to the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the base profile of a second embodiment of interlocking interior trim according to the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the middle profile of a second embodiment of interlocking interior trim according to the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the top profile of a second embodiment of interlocking interior trim according to the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the quarter round profile of a second embodiment of interlocking interior trim according to the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a female to male converter of a second embodiment of interlocking interior trim according to the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a male to female converter of a second embodiment of interlocking interior trim according to the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a perspective view of a door casing of a second embodiment of interlocking interior trim according to the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of a chair railing system of a second embodiment of interlocking interior trim according to the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view of a window casing arrangement of a second embodiment of interlocking interior trim according to the present invention.

FIGS. 23 and 24 are perspective views of stair kit parts of a second embodiment of interlocking interior trim according to the present invention.

Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is interlocking interior trim, designated generally as 20 in the Figures. The interlocking interior trim 20 is a modular baseboard system that may be installed without using additional specialized tools or materials.

The interlocking interior trim 20 comprises a bottom baseboard piece 30, at least one center baseboard piece 40, and a top baseboard piece 50, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. The baseboard pieces are stackable, and will connect to each other using tongue-and-groove or equivalent joints, before being secured to the wall W using an adhesive backing 22 or other common fastener. Referring to FIG. 6, the top baseboard piece 50 has an elongate tongue 52 protruding from its bottom surface 54. This tongue 52 may be inserted into a groove 42 on the top surface 44 of the center baseboard piece 40, as shown in FIG. 3, to secure the top baseboard piece 50 to the center baseboard piece 40.

The center baseboard piece 40 additionally has an elongate tongue 46 protruding from its bottom surface 48. The bottom baseboard piece 30 has a groove 32 running along its top surface 34, as shown in FIG. 2. The tongue 46 on the center baseboard piece 40 may be inserted into the groove 32 on the top surface 34 of the bottom baseboard piece 30 to secure the center baseboard piece 40 to the bottom baseboard piece 30. A second groove 36 may run across the lower front surface 38 of the bottom baseboard piece 30. A tongue 62 protruding from the rear surface 64 of a bottom quarter round piece 60, as shown in FIG. 5, may be inserted into the second groove 36, securing the bottom quarter round piece 60 to the bottom baseboard piece 30. The interlocking trim 20 is designed to allow the typical homeowners to install the trim 20 themselves due to the ease in snapping the tongue-and-groove connections together.

Referring to FIG. 4, the center baseboard piece 40 may optionally have an ornamental design 24 on its front surface 26. This design 24 may be a three-dimensional relief that is molded, carved, or otherwise formed into the front surface 26 of the center baseboard piece 40, or the design 24 may be printed, painted, etched, or otherwise adhered in two-dimensional form onto the front surface 26 of the center baseboard piece 40.

The top baseboard piece 50 also may optionally have an ornamental design similar to that shown at 28. The design may be printed, painted, etched, or otherwise adhered in two-dimensional form onto the front surface 56 of the top baseboard piece 50 a, or the design may be a three-dimensional relief that is molded, carved, or otherwise formed either into the front surface 56 of the top baseboard piece 50 a, or the three-dimensional design may encompass the entire top baseboard piece 50 b, as shown in FIG. 7.

Additionally, a corner connector piece 70 may be used at the intersection of two walls to connect the sections of interlocking trim 20 installed at the base of each wall W. Referring to FIGS. 8A and 8B, the corner connector piece 70 a, 70 b has a first slot 72 and a second slot 74 defined in its front surface 76. The first slot 72 is oriented such that it is normal to the second slot 74. The ends of the sections of interlocking trim 20 may be inserted into the first slot 72 and second slot 74. Optionally, corner connector 70 b is designed to receive the bottom quarter round piece 60 therein. The rear surface 78 of the corner connector 70 fits flush against the corner at the intersection of two walls.

The interlocking trim 20 can be used around the walls of a room, as a chair rail, as crown molding, or along a staircase S. When used along a staircase S, the baseboard pieces are cut at an angle to allow the interlocking trim 20 to run parallel to the slope α of the stairs S, as shown in FIG. 9. Referring now to FIG. 10, the bottom staircase piece 80 has a top surface 82 with an elongate groove 84 extending along the top surface 82, similar to the bottom baseboard piece 30. However, the top surface 82 of the bottom staircase piece 80 is not parallel to the bottom surface 86 of the bottom staircase piece 80, but instead forms an angle β with respect to the bottom surface 86. This angle β is substantially equal to the angle α of the slope of the staircase S. The bottom staircase piece may additionally include a groove 88 into which the bottom quarter round piece 60 may be inserted.

The center staircase piece 90 has an elongate groove 92 extending along the top surface 94, and an elongate tongue 96 protruding from its bottom surface 98, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. The top surface 94 and bottom surface 98 may be substantially parallel to each other. The left side 102 and right side 104 of the center staircase piece 90 may also be substantially parallel to one another, however the left side 102 forms an angle λ with the bottom surface 98 that is substantially equal to the slope α of the stairs, and the right side 104 forms an angle ψ with the top surface 94 that is also substantially equal to the slope α of the stairs.

The center staircase piece 90 may optionally have an ornamental design 106 on its front surface 108, as shown in FIG. 11. This design 106 may be a three-dimensional relief that is molded, carved, or otherwise formed into the front surface 108 of the center staircase piece 90, or the design 106 may be printed, painted, etched, or otherwise adhered in two-dimensional form onto the front surface 108 of the center staircase piece 90.

The top staircase piece 110 has an elongate tongue 112 protruding from its bottom surface 114, as shown in FIG. 13. The top surface 116 and bottom surface 114 of the top staircase piece 110 may be substantially parallel to each other. The left side 122 and right side 124 of the top staircase piece 110 may also be substantially parallel to one another, however the left side 122 forms an angle Ω with the bottom surface 114 that is substantially equal to the slope α of the stairs, and the right side 124 forms an angle θ with the top surface 116 that is also substantially equal to the slope α of the stairs.

The top staircase piece 110 may optionally have an ornamental design 126 on its front surface 128. This design 126 may be a three-dimensional relief that is molded, carved, or otherwise formed into the front surface 128 of the top staircase piece 110, or the design 126 may be printed, painted, etched, or otherwise adhered in two-dimensional form onto the front surface 128 of the top staircase piece 110.

A second embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 14-24. This embodiment incorporates a tongue, groove, locking protuberances, and notch arrangement to interlock the various components. Attention is directed to FIG. 14 wherein a baseboard profile section of the second embodiment is indicated at 200. Base section 200 is provided with a groove 202 extending along entire length of the top of the section. Respective notches 204 are disposed on both sides of groove 202. A second groove 206 is disposed on the face of base section 200. Second groove 206 is also provided with opposed notches 208 on opposite sides thereof. Notches 204 and 208 are coextensive with their respective grooves.

A middle profile section of the second embodiment is shown in FIG. 15 at 210. Middle profile section includes a tongue 212 disposed at its lower end, which tongue extends along the entire length of the section. Locking protuberances 214 are disposed on both sides of tongue 212. Groove 216 and notch 218 arrangements (identical to that as discussed in the paragraph immediately above) are disposed along the upper end of middle section 210.

FIG. 16 illustrates a top profile section of the second embodiment as indicated at 220. A tongue 222 having coextensive locking protuberances 224 on both sides thereof extends along the entire length of the bottom end of top profile section 220.

A quarter round profile section 230 is best seen in FIG. 17. Quarter round section 230 includes a tongue 232 and locking protuberance 234 arrangement disposed along the entire length of the rear face of quarter round section 230.

Assembling the components (described in the second embodiment) requires that only base section 200 be secured to the wall of a room. The middle section 210, top section 220 and quarter round section 230 can be snapped into place and interlocked securely via the tongue, groove and locking protuberance arrangement. Base section 200 may be reversed if a quarter round section is not employed. Like the first embodiment, the components of the second embodiment may optionally have an ornamental design on the visible surfaces This design may be a three-dimensional relief that is molded, carved, or otherwise formed into the surfaces or the design may be printed, painted, etched, or otherwise adhered in two-dimensional form.

Adjunct components for the system are shown in FIGS. 18-25. All adjunct components employ a groove, tongue and locking protuberance system or combinations thereof. FIGS. 18 and 19 respectively illustrate female-to-male and male-to-female converters 240 and 244. The female-to-male adjunct is provided with opposed groove and locking protuberance arrangements 242. The male-to-female converter 244 is provided with opposed groove and notch arrangements 246.

FIG. 20 shows the interlocking system incorporated in a door casing. The parts of the casing (250 and 252) are connected with interlocking teeth 254. Opposed grooves 256 and 258 are disposed on the joined parts. The door jamb will interlock in one of the grooves. FIG. 21 shows the interlock system applied to chair railing 260. FIG. 22 shows the interlock system applied to a window casing 270.

As best seen in FIGS. 23 and 24, a stair profile member(s) 280 is provides for lining the walls adjacent a staircase. Stair profile member 280 includes a tongue 282 and a groove for receiving the tongue of an adjacent member. A groove is also provided for interlocking a middle or top profile to the stair profile member.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims. 

1. Interlocking interior trim, comprising: an elongate bottom baseboard piece; an elongate top baseboard piece; and at least one elongate middle baseboard piece, the top, bottom and middle baseboard pieces being joined by joints formed by an elongated tongue having lateral protuberances extending from one of the pieces engaging an elongated groove having lateral notches defined in the adjoining piece.
 2. The interlocking interior trim according to claim 1, wherein said baseboard pieces further comprise an adhesive backing adapted for removably securing said baseboard pieces to a vertical surface.
 3. The interlocking interior trim according to claim 1, further comprising an elongate quarter round piece joined to said bottom baseboard piece at a joint, the joint being formed by an elongated tongue having lateral protuberance extending from one of the pieces interlocking with a groove having lateral notches defined in the other piece.
 4. The interlocking interior trim according to claim 1, wherein said bottom baseboard piece is reversible.
 5. An interlocking interior trim kit, comprising: at least one elongate bottom baseboard piece having a top edge and a front surface, the bottom baseboard piece having an elongated groove with opposed notches defined therein, the groove extending along the top edge; at least one elongate middle baseboard piece having a top edge and a bottom edge, the middle baseboard piece having an elongated groove with opposed notches defined therein extending along the top edge and an elongated tongue having lateral protuberances thereon extending along the bottom edge, the middle piece elongated tongue being interlockable with the elongated groove defined in the top edge of the bottom baseboard piece; and at least one elongate top baseboard piece having a bottom edge, the top baseboard piece having an elongated tongue with lateral protuberances thereon extending along the bottom edge of the top baseboard piece, the top baseboard piece tongue being interlockable with the elongated groove defined in the top edge of the middle baseboard piece.
 6. The interlocking interior trim kit according to claim 5, wherein said baseboard pieces further comprise an adhesive backing adapted for removably securing said baseboard pieces to a vertical surface.
 7. The interlocking interior trim kit according to claim 5, wherein said bottom baseboard piece is reversible.
 18. An interlocking interior trim kit, comprising: at least one elongate bottom baseboard piece having a top edge and a front surface, the bottom baseboard piece having a first elongated groove with opposed notches defined therein extending along the top edge and an elongated second groove with opposed notches defined therein extending along the front surface; at least one elongate middle baseboard piece having a top edge and a bottom edge, the middle baseboard piece having an elongated groove with laterally opposed notches defined therein extending along the top edge and an elongated tongue with having lateral protuberances thereon extending along the bottom edge, the middle baseboard piece tongue being interlockable with the first groove defined in the top edge of the bottom baseboard piece; at least one elongate top baseboard piece having a bottom edge and an elongated tongue having lateral protuberances thereon extending along the bottom edge, the top baseboard piece tongue being interlockable with the groove extending along the top edge of the middle baseboard piece; and at least one quarter round piece having a rear surface and an elongated tongue with lateral protuberances thereon extending along the rear surface of the quarter round piece, the quarter round piece tongue being interlockable with the second groove defined in the bottom baseboard piece.
 9. The interlocking interior trim kit according to claim 8, wherein said baseboard pieces further comprise an adhesive backing adapted for removably securing said baseboard pieces to a vertical surface.
 10. The interlocking interior trim kit according to claim 8, wherein said bottom baseboard piece is reversible. 